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Keep Or Discard Tips To Declutter Your Closet

Planning To Declutter Your Closet

So you are looking for tips to declutter your closet? Look no further I have all the advice you’ll need. The first thing you need to do is to plan ahead. If you are building a capsule wardrobe make sure you know what colours you are going to include, and what styles you prefer. A good way to get started is to create a Pinterest board for colours you like and one for styles you like and suit you. Spend your time with it so that you get a clear idea of what you love again before you start removing items from your wardrobe. 

For further help consider the help of a personal styling session or a colour analysis. Both will help you focus on what will work for you and what will not. Choosing colours and styles you know suit you is a great place to start because it saves money and time in the long run. Next, consider your lifestyle and the climate you live in so as to match the styles and colours to your needs. 

Decide Where To Declutter Your wardrobe

Plan where you will declutter your clothes. Ideally, you need a large space so you can lay the clothes out and see clearly how many items you have of one particular style. If you are stuck for time, or you have a very large collection of clothes, consider breaking the declutter down into categories of garment type. For example, you might start with belts, then move on to bags, jackets, trousers etc. 

Layout the clothes so you can see them all together. Get them from the loft, shed, basement, car wherever they are. Do not forget anything, only this way you can see how much you have and declutter efficiently. 

A curated wardrobe

Divide Your Lifestyle Up To Decide what To Keep And What To Discard

Look at what you do on a weekly or monthly basis and divide it up into percentages. By doing this you can see how many duplicates you need for a particular area of your lifestyle. 

Use the details from the colours you have chosen, the styles you love, your lifestyle and the climate you live in to determine what you need and love. 

Next, you can look at each item and decide if it is one you keep or one you discard. Where possible donate or sell and if that is not possible, consider fabric banks to minimise the impact of landfill. 

What To Keep And What To Discard

When deciding whether to keep something or to discard it, consider the following;

  1. Damaged clothes – Remove anything that is damaged and either fix it immediately or take it to someone who can fix it. If that is not possible, place it somewhere to remind you to get it mended or remove it entirely.
  2. Duplicates – Based on your lifestyle decide how many duplicates of. a garment you need. It will largely depend on how many times you do a wash cycle and how often you wear that type of garment. Choose the best based on the newest, best quality, most durable, most comfortable and most practical. 
  3. Clothes that no longer fit – Unless you are actively working towards a weight goal and seeing results, or you have recently been pregnant or have a medical condition, anything that does not fit should be put aside. If you are not sure, put the items away for one season somewhere you can get them, but that is not in front of you every day. If at the end of that season you have not got them out to wear then remove them completely. 
  4. Uncomfortable clothes – Come on, I know it reminds you of Benidorm, or it cost you a lot of money, but if you walk past it every time you go to put something on because it is uncomfortable what is the point? Sell it and buy something similar that is comfortable. 
  5. The last time you wore it – When was the last time you wore it? Unless it is for a seasonal or yearly event like for example skiing, if you have not worn it for over a year let it go. 

Once you have created your capsule wardrobe be very careful about what you buy in the future so it does not become overwhelming again. A good way to see what you wear is to turn the hangers back to front every time you wear something. At the end of the season, you can see what to keep and what to consider donating. For more help on decluttering and building a capsule wardrobe download my FREE Capsule Wardrobe Guide or book a free consultation with me to join many other men and women to learn how I can help you reach your dream wardrobe goals. 

a curate closet on a pink background

What Next?

The information given in the post is the best of my knowledge at the time of writing. If you are embarking on anything new get professional advice if required.

If you enjoyed this post and wish to create a capsule wardrobe, I can help you create one quickly and easily. Get started immediately with one of my personal styling services or book in for a complimentary consultation

  • Personal Styling Gift Vouchers – Save up, ask for them for gifts or put towards any of my services. This is the ideal way to afford a personal stylist whatever your budget!
  • Capsule Closet Success Membership – Receive a copy of the Seasonal Capsule Essentials Ebook twice a year worth $19 and gain access to the Capsule Closet Success Course worth $200. Join our private community for support and advice and submit questions every week and have them answered live in our weekly live check-in sessions. 
  • Premium Personal Styling – A personalised colour analysis and body shape style guide, a live wardrobe edit, a personal shopping and a curated Lookbook
  • Personal Styling – 
  • A personalised Colour Analysis, a Body Shape Analysis And Style Guide, a Live Wardrobe Edit
  • A wardrobe Edit – A 20-minute zoom call to discuss your needs and to highlight any particular problems you want to address in the wardrobe edit. A private Pinterest board to pin styles and colours you love. A 60 minutes live video wardrobe edit
  • Colour Analysis And Body Shape Styling –

  • The Capsule Closet Stylist Colour Analysis looks at the natural colouring in your hair, eyes and skin tone and shows how you can complement your natural colouring in your clothes. The Body Shape Style Guide teaches you how to make the most of your best assets, hide what you do not like, find clothes that complement your shape, and choose the perfect fit.

Still Not Sure?

Book a discovery call with me where we can discuss colour, style, decluttering, body shapes and much, much more.  I can identify where you most need help and point you in the right direction. 

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**Please Note This Post Contains Affiliate Links

Capsule Closet Stylist is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Program, Shopstyle and LTK, affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn commission incomes by advertising and linking to Capsuleclosetstylist.com 

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Capsule Closet Success testimonials

'When you join the membership it isn't generic it is tailored to your needs. Michelle considers each individual person and provides advice and guidance based on their needs. I have learnt so much since I joined I feel like I could sit an exam on it now! Honestly, without a doubt if you feel like you are lost with what to wear, you don't know what suits your body shape or your shape has changed, you've lost confidence, you're starting a new job, or you want to minimise your wardrobe, Michelle's membership is without a doubt for you. You can not get better for the price, I have looked!'
Rachel
UK
I joined Michelle's facebook "capsule wardrobe challenge" in June 2020. I loved her approach of starting off with a concept of what colours and styles you were attracted to, followed by what your lifestyle required functionally. It helped me assess my existing wardrobe with a checklist in mind instead of feeling overwhelmed and indecisive. I found the video format and weekly check-ins easy to follow and explained each stage of building a capsule well. She has been quick to answer any queries I have and to offer her professional stylist's opinion with a gentle manner. I am most grateful for Michelle's overarching aim to help her clients "find their happy place". This membership is about being comfortable in your own skin, not about being super fashionable, and that is exactly what I needed. Thank you for helping me find my confidence again. 😊
Helen
Australia
There is no doubt in my mind that having a personal stylist online is worth the investment. In fact, at the end of the day I will spend considerably less while looking and feeling so much better. Why? Because I will never again mindlessly spend and spend and spend on clothes that just aren’t right for me and that don’t make me happy. I think we all dream of that wardrobe that makes us happy and confident, but it is so easy to just give up and just wear something. I know I did. And that is just plain crazy because I love clothes! I have always been attracted to styles that I lacked the confidence to try out. Now, with the help and guidance of Michelle, I can finally explore those styles with confidence knowing that whenever I run an item by Michelle, she will give me her honest feedback on whether or not it will fit with my colors and with how I want to look and feel. In short: Michelle’s advice really is priceless. I feel an A-lister in the garments I have purchased since becoming a member! Pssst: One secret, you don’t have to become a minimalist if you don’t want to. Michelle is not about legalistic minalism, she is all about you finding out what works for you and that – along with her very deep knowledge of style – is why I think her membership works for me when in the past nothing else has.
Sisse
Denmark
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